About

A game of cards, dice, and stellar conquest

PREMISE

Two fledgling empires stare across the void at one another.

The Terran Alliance explores space eager for new frontiers and
resources to exploit. They are a cantankerous collection of conflicting
factions united only in their refusal to accept any limitation to their
individual ambitions. They are at their strongest, and happiest, when
challenged.

The Alpha Centauri Regime advances into space to meet the alien
threat and eliminate it. They are a single people united under a single
banner. The State gives every citizen a purpose, and every citizen gives
their all to the State. Anything less is unacceptable.

Now aware of the existence of the other, both sides advance eagerly
for the conflict to come. The one thing they share is an appetite for
war.

GAMEPLAY

In the standard game, each player takes on the role of an
intergalactic empire in a head to head battle for domination. A field of
cards between the players represents the space that separates the two
homeworlds, with every card offering a potential threat to overcome or
resource to conquer. Each player uses the resources of the homeworld and
conquered planets to construct ships in the form of polyhedral dice. The
number of facets determines the firepower and resilience of the ship,
while the color dictates its armaments and special functions. Purple
royal crafts inspire greater production from the colonies they control,
while the gray stealth ships advance upon the enemy unseen.

The growing fleets explore space and claim worlds, fighting the enemy
whenever they make contact. All ships attacking a contested card roll to
determine the effectiveness of their assault. The defending ships roll
and pair off the highest roll against the highest attacker, then the
second highest, and so on until all ships are paired. The higher roll of
each pair survives while the lower falls as a casualty. If any defending
ship survives the onslaught, the attacker is repelled.

The game continues until an empire loses its homeworld for three
turns, is crushed entirely, or suffers unbearable losses to its fleet
represented by 100 facets worth of ships destroyed.

"Hands down best war game I've played in a long time." - Nathaniel Graham, Magelings Games

I really enjoyed playing, I like the mechanics, and liked
the artwork. I give it a four out of five stars. Game on! -Christopher Richter @Boardgaming_FTW

"Nearspace crams a lot of 4X game into a simple and easy to play experience. It may lack the complexity of bigger games such as Eclipse or Twilight Imperium but it more than makes up for that with a quick and simple game that punches above its weight. It delivers many of the difficult decisions, resource management and tactical placement that larger games offer but in a smaller, more digestible format. The customisable nature of the game means there are plenty of opportunities to expand the game further and develop your own strategies." - Steve Tudor from Polyhedron Collider

"The genius of Nearspace is in its customization. In most 4X games, all players start on a corner of the board with a prescribed set up and three to five ship types. Nearspace is different. You decide how you want to conquer and then using all the dice in your house, build a fleet to make it happen. With dozens of ship types and thousands of fleet combinations, you decide which strategies and tactics to employ. How do you want to win? Castle up in one system? Blitz the periphery? Flank the enemy's home world with a stealth fleet? Punch through the center with an armada of brute force? You decide. Strategy not working? - No problem, you can innovate on the fly, switching your production to match your needs. The winner is the one who can out adapt his opponent. Nearspace: Fast, lean, replay-able and designed to put you in complete control."-Phil Shearrer, Creator Corpus

"Wow I have never seen a game that is brand new and uses something I already have just lying around. and uses every dice, yes even those D12 that never get any love. A perfect game that represent both as a dice and a card game. So can your D12 beat a group of D4's? Grab your dice and play Nearspace. Definitely a game to "die" for." -Jason G Wallace

NEARSPACE

The NEARSPACE game. 105 unique cards including Homeworlds for the Terrans and Alpha Centauri. The initial release of the game will have enough sectors, mine fields, asteroid fields, space monsters, events, strongholds and more to keep players busy. Easily enough cards to build two distinctly different decks. A great 2-player starter with a suggested retail price of $25.00. Don’t want to share your cards, or cannot decide who gets to include New Terra in their deck, then be sure to add on an additional game.

Kickstarter Exclusive: Also included is a ZERO CARD, Unique to Kickstarter only backers of the campaign will receive this card. A zero card is just what it sounds like - zero; it is deck vapor. It costs nothing and cycles out of your register for free. A very powerful, if subtle card.

GAME STORE LEAGUES: The best part of a new game is playing it
with others. You can have your copy of NEARSPACE delivered to your favorite local game store. For every three
copies of NEARSPACE delivered through a verified brick and mortar
location we will include an additional copy of the game for the
retailer. Game stores supporting the program can be found on this list.
Don't see your Favorite Local Game Store? Have the store owner or
manager contact Spartacus Publishing and get on the list -
league@spartacuspublishing.com

THANKS!

Join the conversation. Let us know what you think. Our thanks for supporting a great game and your name enshrined on the Spartacus Publishing website. See your name emblazoned in lighted pixels!

BRICK AND MORTAR RETAILER REWARD LEVEL

Brick and Mortar stores who have a B2B account with Studio 2
Publishing may choose this reward level. You will be guaranteed any and
all extras generated by this Kickstarter. Copies of the game (SRP
$25.00) may be purchased through Studio 2 Publishing at your standard
discount when they become available up to one month before general
release. We will label all games purchased through this campaign with a
sticker so that your customers know you have supported the Kickstarter
and have gotten them goodies exclusive to backers.

UPDATE: If you are a retailer and would like to back this campaign at a standard level we can include you on the B&M Reward Tier at your request.

THE DICE BAG

These drawstring dice bags have long been a
prestige item amongst gamers. No matter your opinion on their source it
is hard to argue with swaddling your dice in velvet comfort.

The History of the Purple Bag
To celebrate the maiden visit to Canada of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England, Seagram’s Chairman Samuel Bronfman developed a unique whiskey of refined smoothness for the occasion. But he needed something to present this crown jewel in. Something regal. Something luxurious. It was decided this special whisky would be housed in a velvet bag of purple — since ancient times the color reserved for royalty — with drawstrings of gold.
- from Society of the Crown

NEARSPACE T-SHIRT

This great classic black tee emblazoned with the Nearspace logo. Carpe Stella! Black
100% Cotton tee in sizes from Small to 5X. This item can be included
with any other reward level for an additional $20.

EXPLORER

At this reward level you will receive a copy of the NEARSPACE game and the right to name a sector card for the initial release of the game. The name you choose will need to meet with standard guidelines.

FOUNDER

At this reward level you will receive a copy of the NEARSPACE game and work with our design team to develop a card for the game. The card will be released at the earliest opportunity and will need to meet with standard guidelines.

CONQUEROR

At this reward level you will receive a copy of the NEARSPACE game and be the sole distributor of 500 copies of a unique space sector named by you. These cards will be game legal and will not see distribution except via your activities. (We will keep some for our own use but they will not be released to the public.) The name you choose will need to meet with standard guidelines.

You can also pledge for more than a specified reward level and receive one or more of the following add-ons.

$5 THE DICE BAG : Velvety goodness for the dice of champions.

$5 CHESSEX OPAQUE DICE
: Made of a particularly dense material for a better feel when rolling
.
This
material also allows for flatter faces and sharper edges. Available colors include White,
Yellow,
Orange,
Red,
Green,
Blue,
Black,
Grey,
and Purple
in polyhedral (7) and six-sided (12) dice sets.

$20 NEARSPACE T-SHIRT : Wear it proudly.Carpe Stella!

$25 THE GAME AGAIN : Get an additional copy of Nearspace.

$20
ADD TO YOUR DICE COLLECTION
: Straight from the playtest lab at Spartacus Publishing. We will send you a collection of about 40 dice. Random sizes, colors, manufacturers... well let's just say an eclectic mix. Maybe they will roll better for you than they ever have for us.

$12,500+KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE: COLONY WORLDAs a Thank You to
the backers of this Campaign we will include a Colony World Sector available only through this Kickstarter or at sanctioned tourneys.

$15,000+NEUTRAL SPACEAn additional copy of the Neutral Space sector, which will allow you to have one for the board layout and
one for your deck.

$17,500+PLAYMATA playmat (14”x24”x1/16 Fabric Surface Rubber Backed Game Mat) familiar to most card gamers, featuring new art, will be made available to Kickstarter backers as an add-on.

$20,000+ENGINE DICEWe will include 2 d20s for starting Engine Dice in the release of the game.

$25,000+THERE'S AN APP FOR THATWe will have a resource tracking and deck building app constructed and distributed free to all backers.

$30,000+COUNTERS Metal counters, 2-sided tokens used to denote your presence in sectors will be included in the Kickstarter release.

$35,000+FIRST CONTACTWe will go to press with our
first expansion of Nearspace. This release will be made available to Kickstarter backers as an add-on for a special price.

$40,000+MYSTERIES OF THE VOIDIf funding reaches this level a very cool extra is included for every Kickstarter backer. What is it? That will be revealed soon enough!

So we are looking at raising $9,500. Is that enough to get this game
printed? Not really but that is the amount we need in addition to the
funds we have set aside for the project. We have committed $6,000 of our
own money into the project but we need your help to close the gap.

So what will the funds from the Kickstarter be used for? 55% to the physical production of the game20% of the funds will go to the artists who made this possible12% for postage and shipping of rewards8% is estimated to go for fees and credit card services5% set aside for Unforeseen incidentals and the Kicking it Forward Pledge

A GREAT IDEA THAT I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR

Brian Fargo, Wasteland 2 Kickstarter Campaign, has formalized the idea of keeping the crowd source funding rolling into more projects. Check out his website http://kickingitforward.org for more information. For my part I will gladly make the pledge of putting 5% of this projects profits back into the Kickstarter community.

Risks and challenges

As with every project, we run the risk of natural disasters and other cataclysmic events interfering with manufacturing and shipping schedules. A delay in delivering NEARSPACE is likely to come from one of three main sources: artwork, manufacturing quality control, and freight logistics. We have taken steps to ensure that delivery will be on time, but that cannot always happen. We will always strive to make sure that our backers are kept aware of any circumstances that would affect prompt delivery of the rewards.

We have published over a dozen role-playing games and supplements. Though this is our first card game we are familiar with the process and are capable of ensuring completion.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1 or more
About $1.00

BRICK AND MORTAR RETAILER REWARD LEVEL : Brick and Mortar stores who have a B2B account with Studio 2 Publishing may choose this reward level. You will be guaranteed any extras generated by this Kickstarter. Copies of the game may be purchased through Studio 2 Publishing when they become available up to one month before general release.

UPDATE: If you are a retailer and would like to back this campaign at a standard level we can include you on the B&M Reward Tier at your request.

Our thanks for supporting a great game and your name enshrined on the Spartacus Publishing website.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $15 or more
About $15

THE DAWN OF NEARSPACE : Very Early Bird Reward! The starter set of NEARSPACE and any extras generated by this Campaign.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $20 or more
About $20

THE ADVENT OF NEARSPACE : Early Bird Reward! The starter set of NEARSPACE and any extras generated by this Campaign.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

NEARSPACE : The starter set of NEARSPACE and any extras generated by this Campaign.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $40 or more
About $40

NEARSPACE AND PROUD : The starter set of NEARSPACE, with any extras generated by this Campaign, and a NEARSPACE T-SHIRT.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

NEARSPACE EXPLORER : Name a sector card for the initial release of the game. The name you choose will need to meet with standard guidelines. The starter set of NEARSPACE, with any extras generated by this Campaign, and a NEARSPACE T-SHIRT.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

NEARSPACE AND PLAYTEST SET : The starter set of NEARSPACE, with any extras generated by this Campaign, and a NEARSPACE T-SHIRT. My personal copy of the demo cards. This set of cards is the first official demo deck signed and numbered by Casey and Gabe. I will include a set of "lucky" dice.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

NEARSPACE FOUNDER : Work with our design team to develop a card for the game. The card will be released at the earliest opportunity and will need to meet with standard guidelines. The starter set of NEARSPACE, with any extras generated by this Campaign, and a NEARSPACE T-SHIRT.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

NEARSPACE CONQUEROR : Sole distributor of 500 copies of a unique Space Sector named by you. The name you choose will need to meet with standard guidelines. The starter set of NEARSPACE, with any extras generated by this Campaign, and a NEARSPACE T-SHIRT.
This reward can be enrolled into the Game Store Leagues at conclusion of the campaign. Our thanks for supporting a great game.